Door closer and check.



No. 797,273. PATENTEDAUG. 15, 1905. J. B. ERWIN.

DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19, 1903.

. V I MW J" an; TNESS; INVENTOR.

PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905, J. B. ERWIN. DOOR CLOSER AND UHEGK,

a smmswnnm z N x w m mw w APPLICATION FILED 0070.19, 1903.

""INVE/VTOR.

Maj

mnnew, a mumw co, mom-unmomvnma, wAsmncimm n c.

1%. 79mm. IPATENTED AUG. 15, 190%.

' J. B. 51mm DOOR GLO$ER AND GHEGK.

- APPLIOATION FILED 00T.19, 1003.

3 BHBETSBHIBET 3.

WITNESS 5. [N I/EN TOR.

llTlE STTlElS JAMES) B. ERVVI'N, OF lVIILVVAUKEE, WVIQCONSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 19055.

Application filed October 19, 1908. Serial No. 177,5d3.

To a. whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that 1, James B. ltnwrn. a eitizen of the United States, residing at lvlilwaukec, county of llflilwaukee, and @tate of l/Vis consin, have invented new and useful improvements in Door Closers and Checks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and eflicient device for checking and regulating the movement of a door when being closed by the recoil of an actuating-spring, gravity of a weight, or other equivalent means whereby the same is prevented from slamming.

- My invention pertains more especially, first, to the means employed for automatically applying the resistance of a brake to the closing door; second, to the construction of the governor or brake mechanism; third, to the pe culiar construction of the door-closing mechanism; fourth, to the device for regulating the action of the brake mechanism for light or heavy doors; fifth, to the peculiar construction of the worm-shaft and the actuatingnut or bearing-block by which the same is driven; sixth, to the device for coupling the worm-shaft to the governor by which the same is revolved as the door is closed and is permitted to remain at rest when the door is open; seventh, to the device by which the gravity of one of the governor-Weights is counterbalanced by that of the other, whereby the centrifugal action of such weights is uniform at all points of the circle described by them.

My invention is further explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a front view thereof in operative connection with the door and doorinclosing frame. Fig. 2 is a top View. Fig. 3 is a front view of the governor or automatic brake mechanism. Fig. at is a section drawn on line a w of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 6 is a transverse section, of the door-closing mechanism. Fig. 7 represents a front view of my door-check as used. in connection with doors closed by ordinary spring-actuated hinges, showing the check mechanism attached to the door instead of to the door-frame.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several views.

1 represents a door, and 2 the door-frame. 1n the preferred form of construction the door is closed by a spring 3, acting through the shaft 1, lever 5, lever 6, pivotal bolts 7 and 8. spring-inclosing case 9, and bracket 10. The closing movement of the door is checked by the resistance of an automatic governor, the brakes of which are set by the centrifugal action of revolving weights, motion being communicated from the moving door when closing to the governor through a worm-shaft 11 and slidable nut or bearing-block 12. The worm-shaft '11 is supported from the door or door-frame, as circumstances require, it being connected with such parts at one end through the center pin 16, post 14-, and bracket 13 and at its opposite end through the center pin 17, hub 18, shell 19, post 15, and said bracketplate 13. The center pin 16 has screw-threaded bearings in the post 1 1 and is adapted to be adjusted longitudinally therein against the end of the worm-shaft, against and upon the end of which pin said shaft is adapted to rcvolve. The center pin 17 is slidably connected at one end with the opposite end of said wormshaft, while the other end of said pin has journal-bearings in the hub 18, which hub is preferably formed in connection with the shell 19. The shell 19 incloses and forms a part of the brake mechanism or the governor. The shell 19 is rigidly secured to the post 15 by screws 20. The center pin 17 is preferably but not necessarily secured rigidly in the hub 21. of the governor by a set-screw 22. The governor or brake mechanism comprises the central hub 21, arms 22 23, governor-weights 2a, and weight-supporting levers 25 26, pivotal connections 27 28, link 29, pivotal connections 30 and 31, contact-bearing 32, and inclosing shell 19.

it will be obvious that when the weight-supporting levers 25 and 26 are connected with the sup porting-arms 22 and 23 and with each other through the connecting-link 2.9 the gravity of one of the governor-weights will be counteracted by that of the other, whereby their centrifugal action around their central axis will be uniform throughout the entire circle described by them regardless of their relative position above or below the supporting-shaft. The extreme outer ends of the weight-supporting levers serve as contact-bearing surfaces, which are thrown outwardly against the inclosing shell 19 by the centrifugal action of the weights 24 as they are revolved and. serve as brakes to retard the closing movement of the door. l'V'hen, however, the movement of the door is retarded or suiliciently slow, the governor-balls are drawn inwardly toward their common center by the action of the spiral spring 42. The spring 42 is connected at one end to one of the weight-supporting levers and at the other end to the lever-supporting arms. The action of the spring is communicated from one of said supportinglevers to the other through the connectinglink 29. To increase or diminish the tension of the spring 42, and thereby regulate the action of the brake mechanism as required for light or heavy doors, I have provided the arm 23 with a plurality of notches 43 for the reception of the spring-supporting ring 44, through which ring one end of said spring is connected with said arm. Thus as the ring 44 is adjusted in the notches nearest the outer end of the supporting-arm the tension of said spring is increased, and when adjusted in the opposite direction such tension is diminished. WVhile the governor and worm-shaft may, if desired, be rigidly connected so as to revolve in both directions together as the door is opened and closed, I preferably form them, as shown, so as to move separately, whereby the governor or brake mechanism remains at rest as the door is opened, thus permitting the door to open easily without the resistance of the brake, the worm-shaft 11 being free to revolve on its center pins 17 without moving the governor. hen, however, the door is being closed, a slight end thrust is given to the worm-shaft 11 through the lever 6 and link 6 and nut 12, whereby the collar 33 is brought to bear against the end of the hub 21, thereby communicating a rotary movement to the governor from the worm-shaft. It will be understood that thefriction between the bearing-surfaces of the collar 33 and hub 21 is such as to communicate the desired movement to the governor. Vhile a ratchet-bearing may, if desired, be employed between said huband collar, experience has proven that their use for all ordinary purposes is unnecessary. The collar 33 is secured to the shaft 11 by a screwthread or in any other convenient manner. For convenience of construction the wormshaft 11 is preferably formed of a smooth cylindrical bar, and the worm or thread 34 is formed of ordinary steel wire, which is first bent into a spiral coil of slightly less diameter than the shaft, when it is then forced onto the shaft by pressure, when it is retained in place with sufiicient rigidity by its own elasticity.

While the door may, if desired, be closed with an ordinary spring-actuating hinge 50, as shown in Fig. 7, I preferably employ a door-closing spring in direct connection with the lever 5, as by this arrangement the spring acts with rapidly-increasing power over the door as the door approaches the closed posi tion, whereby the resistance of the door bolts and latches as well as the door-casing incident to forcing the door into its closed position is overcome.

In mypreferred form of door-closing mechanism (shown in Figs. 5 and 6) the case 9 is provided with a journal-bearing 35 for the reception of the inner end of the shaft 4. The protruding end of the shaft 4 is provided with an annular flange 36 and a central trunnion 37. The lever 5 is provided with an annular collar 38, which is fitted to the trunnion 37 and is retained thereon by the head of the bolt 39 acting through the washer 40. The bolt 39 has screw-threaded bearings in the trunnion 37. The opposing surfaces of the flange 36 and the collar 38 are corrugated or roughened, so that when drawn firmly together by the bolt 39 the collar 38 and lever 5 are prevented from turning without turning the shaft 4. lVhen desirous to increase or diminish the tension of the spring 3 as becomes necessary for heavy or light doors, the relative position of the lever 5 to that of the shaft 4 is changed accordingly. To accomplish this object, the bolt 39 is turned outwardly in its bearings until the opposing corrugated surfaces of the flange and collar are disengaged, so as to slide pass each other, when the lever 5 is turned to the desired point f adjustment and again locked in place by turning down the retaining-bolt 39. To prevent the bolt 4 from being turned by the recoil of the spring 3 as the lever is being adjusted, I have provided the flange 36 with an aperture 41 for the reception of a retaininglever, which may be temporarily inserted in said aperture and the bolt held in place against the tension of said spring until the operatinglever 5 is readjusted and locked in position. The spring 3 is connected with the shaft 4 by the pin 45, around which pin the U-shaped bend 46 of said spring engages. The bend 46 bears against the end wall 47 of the inclosing case, and thus prevents the shaft 4 from be ing drawn from the case. The opposite end of the spring 3 is bent so as to form a stop 48, which serves to prevent that end of the spring from turning with the shaft. The stop 48 is drawn between and stopped by the converging surfaces of the shaft 4 and case 9, and thus securely holds that end of the spring in place without additional mechanism.

Vhile the form of governor shown is preferable owing to its compact shape, I do not wish to confine nor limit myself to any particular form of governor, as I have previously used and am aware that a great variety of equivalent forms of governors may be employed for setting the brakes by the centrifugal action of the revolving weights.

\Vhile 1 have in Figs. 1 and 2 shown the door-closing mechanism connected with the door and the door check mechanism connected with the door-frame, the relative position of such parts may be reversed as the construction of the door-casing or other circumstances may require.

As shown and described, the nut 12, by

which the worm-shaft is revolved, is moved longitudinally on said shaft by the joint action of thefolding levers 5 and 6 and link 6. it do not, however, limit my present invention to such means alone for moving the nut on said shaft, a great variety of equivalent means may be employed for comn'iunicating a sliding movement to such nut from the closing movement of the door.

it will be understood that the ideally-pen feet door-check should oppose the least possible resistance to the closing door when moving slowly and that the resistance should be increased only in proportion to the speed of the door. By thus enn loying a worm-shaft (supported at its ends upon small center pins) to resist the closing action of the door the resistance to the door when moving slowly is reduced to the minimum, whereby nearly the full power of the closing-sprii'ig is reserved to force the door into the door-jam and for overcoming the resistance of the door-fastenings as the door is closed, while, on the contrary, when the movement of the door is unduly accelerated the resistance to the movement of the worm-shaft applied through the brake mechanism at so great a distance from its longitudinal axis is most effectual in resisting the closing movement of the door.

Having thus described my invention, what it claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination with a door provided with a closing mechanism of a centrifugal brake mechanism; a worm-shaft adapted to revolve said brake mechanism and means connected with the moving door for revolving said worm-shaft and brake mechanism.

2. The combination of a spring-actuated door-closing mechanism; a worm-shaft; a centrifugal brake mechanism revolubly connected with said worm-shaft and means connected with the door-closing mechanism for revolving said worm-shaft and actuating said brake mechanism.

3. The combination of a door-closing mechanism; arevoluble brakemechanism; awormshaft; means for connnunicating a rotary movement from the closing door to the wormshaft; and brake mechanism as the door is closed and means for permitting said shaft to revolve independently ofthe brakemechanism as the door is opened.

4:. The combination of a door and door-inclosing frame; a door-closing mechanism comprising two levers pivotally connected together at one end and having their opposite ends pivotally connected respectively, one with the door and the other with the doorframe; an actuating-spring adapted to close the door through said pivotally-connected levers; a centrifugal brake mechanism; a link pivotally connected at one end with one of the pivotally-connected levers and slidably connected at its opposite end with the driving mechanism of said centrifugal brake mechanism.

5. The combination of a door-closing mechanism comprising an actuating spring; a spring-sm iporting shaft; a shaft-sm porting bearing and a spring-actuating lever adjustably connected with said shaft; a link pivotally connected at one end to the free end of said spring-actuating lever and at its opposite end with the door-casing; a brake mechanism; a worni-shaft; a slidable bearing mounted on said worm-shaft; means for communicating a reciprocating movement from said spring-actuating lever to the reciprocating bearing of said \VOi'lll'SllLfll and means for communicating a rotary movement from said wcu'm-shaft to said brake mechanism.

6. Ina door closer and check of the class described, a centrifugal brake mechanism comprising a stationary shell; a central hub revolubly supported in said shell; radial arms mounted on said hub; weiglit-supporting levers provided at their outer ends with brakebearings pivoted near their outer ends to the outer ends of said radial arms; governorweights supported near the central shaft from the inner ends of said levers; a link pivotally connected at its respective ends to said weightsupporting levers; a spring connected at one end to one of said weight-supporting levers and at its opposite end to one of said radial arms; means for closing the door and means for communicating a rotary movement from the closing door to said brake mechanism as the door is closed, substal'itially as specified.

7. In an automatic brake mechanism, the combination of a bracket comprising afastcning-plate and shaft-supporting posts; a wormshaft adjustably supported at its respective ends by center pins from said posts; a nut slidably support-ed on said worm-shaft; means actuated by the closing door for reciprocating said nut and revolving said worm-shaft; a revoluble hub provided with radial arms supported upon one of said shaft-supportingcenter pins; weight-sup iorting levers pivotally supported at their outer ends to the outer ends of said radial arms and provided at one end with brake-bearings and at the other end with governing-weights; means for connecting said weight-Snpporting levers together so that the gravity of one will counteract that of the other; an inclosing shell against which the brake bearings are forced by the centrifugal action of said governor-weights; a spring connecting said weight-supporting lovers with the leversupporting mechanism and means for increasing the tension of said spring and regulating the resistance of the brake mechanism, all substantially as, and for the purpose specified.

8. The combination of a door and door-inclosing frame; a door-closing mechanism comprising two levers pivotally connected. to gether at one end and having their opposite ends pivotall y connected respectively one with the door and the other With the door-frame and an actuating-spring adapted to close the door through said pivotally-conneoted levers; a centrifugal brake mechanism; a Worm-shaft revolubly supporting said brake mechanism; and means for communicating motion from said pivotally-connectedlevers to said Worm-shaft and from said worm-shaft to said centrifugal brake mechanism all substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JAMES B. ERWIN. W itnesses:

NELLIE TAUGHER, LYMAN G. WVHEELER. 

